


ilysb

by Schriftstellerexcerpts



Series: tangled up in you [2]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 20:55:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21203960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schriftstellerexcerpts/pseuds/Schriftstellerexcerpts
Summary: Nicole sighs. “What happened to Waverly?” She asks more urgently.There’s a long pause and Nicole can’t take it. She feels her eyes start to well up.“Chrissy,” she pushes, her voice breaking, “please tell me what happened to Waverly.”Chrissy breathes heavily through the speaker of the phone.“Chrissy,” Nicole says again, louder this time.





	ilysb

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, all. This time around, the two Earp sisters and their loving girlfriend/friend are back in high school. Nicole has to attend a dinner with her dad, Wynonna pushes Nicole to say three important words to Waverly, and Champ causes issues at a party. This chapter is a rollercoaster. 
> 
> In other news, I have recently started a YouTube channel to upload edited videos of WayHaught and, of course, WynDoc. What can I say? They make me soft. Anyway, you guys should definitely check it out. I just uploaded a video of WynDoc and plan on having a Wayhaught one up either tomorrow or the next day. My channel name is SchriftstellerExcerpts, just as it is on here. I will link the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNK_wWDwzDU&feature=youtu.be
> 
> Also, you guys should follow me on Instagram. @Sky_Counts and on Twitter @Sky_Counts. 
> 
> I appreciate each and every one of you who take the time to read my work. It truly means a lot. I want to share more of myself with you through YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. I have also been working on a personal channel on YouTube to upload vlogs, sit-down videos, inspirational videos, videos I've worked hard on, and everything in that nature. 
> 
> Again, thank you for reading and liking and commenting. It means everything to me. This fandom is special.

“You’ve always been in love with Waverly. Haven’t you?” Wynonna asks as she leans back further into the couch and rests the beer she’s holding on her thigh.

Nicole chokes on the beer in her mouth. “I never said…” she pauses. “I’m not _in love_ with Waverly.”

Wynonna frowns. “You’re lying,” she says.

“I’m not,” Nicole says. She takes another swig of her beer. “Look, Waverly and I are dating-“

“_Finally_,” Wynonna says.

“And it’s going well right now,” Nicole continues over her. “I’m happy. She’s happy. That’s enough.”

“So you’re just never going to tell her that you love her?” Wynonna asks.

Nicole sighs. _I don’t deserve her enough to tell her how much in love her with I am_, she wants to say. “We’re not there yet,” she says. “I mean, we’ve been dating for a month.”

“Yeah, but you’ve been in love with her since you were little,” Wynonna points out.

“How did you know that?” Nicole asks, raising her eyebrows. “I’ve never told anyone.”

“I know you,” Wynonna simply says. “C’mon, Haught, it’s obvious in the way you treat her. I mean, you’re so tough and Mrs. No-one-can-hurt-me whenever she’s not around, but as soon as she is, I see you change in the best way possible. You become soft, like you’d be willing to do anything for her. It’s always been that way.”

Nicole pushes back the tears that are building up in her eyes. “Of course I’d do anything for her,” she says. “Gosh, Wynonna, it’s like my whole, entire body has always belonged to her; like our souls have always been intertwined; like I was destined to be with her. I’ve always been in love with her, even before I knew what love was.”

Off in the distance, Nicole can hear Ed Sheeran’s voice.

_How would you feel if I told you I loved you? It’s just something that I want to do. I’d be taking my time, spending my life falling deeper in love with you_.

“Meant to be,” Wynonna whispers.

“Huh?” Nicole asks.

“It’s something mama always used to tell Waverly and me,” Wynonna says. “She said that if we met someone and it felt right with them, then we would know that it was meant to be. She said that even if we pushed that person away or told them to leave and they stayed, it was meant to be.”

Nicole smiles. “Meant to be,” she says.

Wynonna nods. “I think you and Waverly are meant to be together,” she tells Nicole. “No, actually, I _know_ that you and Waverly are meant to be together.”

_“_It’s meant to be,” Waverly had said to Nicole after the two of them had just gotten done hanging up a picture of Megan Fox in Nicole’s room. “It’s meant to be with you two.”

Nicole had laughed. “Megan Fox doesn’t even know who I am,” she had said.

Waverly had shrugged. “If you knew her, though, you’d be all over her,” she had said. “Just look at her. She’s gorgeous. No wonder you want a picture of her in your room.”

Fourteen-year-old Nicole had smiled. “I could hang a picture of you in here,”she had said.

“What would you wanna look at me for?” Waverly had asked.

Nicole was silent a moment. “Because I think you’re the most beautiful girl in this world,” she had said.

“She’s the most beautiful girl in the world,” Nicole tells Wynonna.

Wynonna nods her agreement. “She loves you, too, you know,” she says.

Nicole shrugs. “I’ve never been sure of that,” she admits. “She was just with Champ, like, five minutes ago. Now, she’s with me. I don’t know. All of it is just very confusing.”

“Yeah, I definitely know how that feels,” Wynonna says.

Nicole chugs the rest of her beer before she stands up. “I’ve got to go get ready,” she says. “Gotta go to the Big City for dinner with my dad.”

Wynonna frowns. “Another one of those dinner party things where you have to act all proper?” She asks.

Nicole nods. “They’re the worst,” she says.

“Sure you can drive after drinking?” Wynonna asks.

“I only had one, Earp,” Nicole says. “By the time I change into my suit and get on the road, it’ll be like I never even had one.”

“For the record,” Wynonna says, grabbing the remote, “I think you should tell Waverly that you love her.”

_I got the worst luck with love, worst luck with love_, 6LACK sings somewhere in Nicole’s mind.

Nicole pushes down the ache in her throat before she turns and walks up the stairs and into her bedroom.

_You can’t tell Waverly that you love her_, Nicole thinks. _She’ll leave you if you tell her. Everyone you’ve ever told those four letter to have left you_.

She turns on Exchange by Bryson Tiller and walks over to her closet to find her suit.

“I don’t even wanna go to this stupid dinner,” she mumbles. “‘Act right, Nicole,’” she murmurs. “‘You could be working with these guys in your future.’”

“_This what happens when I think ‘bout you,”_ Bryson sings. _“I get in my feelings, yeah. I start reminiscing, yeah.”_

Nicole lays her suit down on her bed and sighs. “Now what tie do I wear?” She asks herself. “I don’t know which color would go better with this suit. Red or black,” she says. “Red or black,” she says again, pondering the two colors.

_“Lord, please save her for me,”_ Bryson sings. _“Do this one favor for me. I had to change, my player ways got way too complicated for me.”_

She decides on the black tie and puts on her suit. She’s looking at herself in her mirror when she hears someone knock on the slightly open door.

“What is it, Wynonna?” She asks, not looking away from the mirror.

“Wrong Earp,” comes Waverly’s voice.

Nicole turns and furrows her eyebrows when she sees Waverly standing in her doorway. “Hey, baby,” she says.

“Hey,” Waverly offers. She walks into the room. “We didn’t have a date planned for tonight, did we?” She asks when she takes in Nicole’s outfit.

Nicole looks down at her suit before looking back at Waverly. “No,” she says. “I have a dinner with my dad. Haven’t I told you about them before? I have to get together with all of his lawyer friends and gossip like-“

“The rich do?” Waverly finishes for her.

“What? No,” Nicole says. “No, we just talk about life as lawyers and about my future,” she tells Waverly.

“Can I come?” Waverly asks.

Nicole freezes. “I…” she stops. “You want to go? They aren’t fun.”

“I don’t care if they’re fun,” Waverly says. “I just want to be with you. I haven’t seen you much this week.”

Nicole bites the side of her lip. “Waves, these dinners are the _worst_,” she says. “Ask Wynonna. I took her to one and she didn’t like it.”

Waverly raises her eyebrows. “You took my sister to one of these dinners, but you won’t take me?” She asks.

_“So gimme all of you in exchange for me,”_ Bryson sings.

“I never said that I wasn’t going to take you,” Nicole says. “All I saiid was they aren’t fun.”

Waverly sighs. “Well, whatever. I don’t even want to go,” she says.

“Okay,” Nicole says, turning back to look at herself in the mirror.

“Okay?” Waverly questions. “That’s it?”

Nicole turns back around. “What?” She asks.

“You’re just going to dismiss the conversation?” Waverly asks.

Nicole frowns. “_You_ dismissed it,” she says.

The song changes to Bless Me by 6LACK and Nicole almost goes over to change it.

She sucks in a breath when the opening lines play.

_“Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, what you’re looking for. Is that me?”_

“It just seems like you don’t want me to go,” Waverly says, her voice so small that Nicole has to force herself to not move from the spot she’s standing in.

“I _do_ want you to go,” Nicole says. “It’s just a dinner, though, Waves. We all just talk about boring stuff.”

“Why do you even have to go?” Waverly asks. “They’re your dad’s friends, not yours.”

Nicole sighs. “You wouldn’t understand,” she tells Waverly.

“Why? Because I’m not rich like you?” Waverly asks.

Nicole pinches the bridge of her nose and internally cringes. This is so not the conversation that she wanted to have right now. “This has nothing to do with money,” she says. “Gosh, Waverly, do you think I’m some sort of snob?”

_“And I’ve been on the road. Met a lot of girls, but I met the wrong kind. Went looking for a muse. Think I found that shit in you, it’s been a long time.”_

“No, I don’t,” Waverly says, “but you’re acting like one right now.”

“Whatever,” Nicole says. She takes a deep breath in, then lets it out. “Think what you think, Waverly. I’m not going to stand here and argue with you over something as simple as _dinner_.”

“Fine,” Waverly says.

“_Fine_,” Nicole says before she slips on her oxfords and grabs her jacket. The winter air in Purgatory is bitter cold, almost like the moment she just shared with Waverly.

_“Please hold onto me. Girl, I need your love.”_

Nicole almost screams at 6LACK to shut up, but she swallows the urge to do so. She heads for the door, but Waverly grabs her wrist and tugs her back.

“Wait,” Waverly says softly. She reaches for the knot in Nicole’s tie and adjusts it. “It was crooked.”

_“You were sent to me from the skies above.”_

Nicole’s arms are limp by her sides. She stares down at Waverly, who holds the moon and stars in her sky, and wants to kiss her with everything in her.

Waverly lets out a shaky breath. She opens her mouth like she’s going to say something, but then she closes her eyes and shakes her head.

_“Angel, where you been? Feening for your touch. Can you bless me?”_

Waverly opens her eyes. “You look great,” she tells Nicole before she backs away.

Nicole’s chin quivers. _Don’t go. I love you. Please don’t leave me._

Waverly holds her stare for a moment before she looks away.

Nicole has to choke back a sob and she reaches out for Waverly. “I don’t want you to go,” she says.

Waverly furrows her eyebrows. “I never said I was leaving.”

“Can you just stay?” Nicole says over her. There are tears streaming down her face. “I won’t go to the stupid dinner if you will just _stay_.”

“I’m not leaving,” Waverly says.

Nicole sinks down to her knees and wraps her arms around Waverly’s waist. She rests the side of her head on Waverly’s stomach. “I need you,” she says. “I’ve never needed anyone the way I need you. Just please don’t leave me. I don’t think I could take it if you walked out of my life.”

Waverly unwraps Nicole’s arms from around her waist and squats down so that she’s eye-to-eye with Nicole. “Nicole,” she says, “baby, I’m not leaving you. What’s going on?”

Nicole blinks and stands up. She backs away with her hand over her mouth. “I didn’t…” she pauses and swallows hard. “I haven’t broke down like that since my mom left.”

Waverly stays in the same spot. “What’re you talking about?”

Nicole runs her hands through her hair. “After my mom left, I kept having these breakdowns where I would blackout and cry and cry until I became dehydrated. I…uh…blacked out with Wynonna awhile back. Usually I just have nightmares about my mom leaving. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Waverly tells her. “It sounds like you have PTSD.”

Nicole looks down. “I know,” she says. “I went to a therapist after my mom left and she diagnosed me with abandonment trauma.”

“Oh, baby,” Waverly says. She walks over to Nicole and wraps her in her arms. “Hey,” she says, cupping Nicole’s cheeks. “I will _never_ leave you. I don’t care how badly we fight. I will _always_ be right here by your side, okay?”

Nicole offers Waverly a small smile, but then she frowns. _This is exactly why you can’t tell her you love her. She’s too pure, too innocent to ever love you back_. _You will ruin her_. She twists out of Waverly’s hold. She doesn’t miss the flash of pain that goes across Waverly’s face.

“What’s wrong?” Waverly asks.

The walls are suddenly closing in on Nicole. Her feet are glued to the floor. She shakes her head and snaps out of it. “I should get going,” she says. “I’m already running late.”

“You’re pushing me away,” Waverly says.

“No, I’m not,” Nicole says. “I’m just…processing.”

“Processing what?” Waverly asks. “Are you…are you having doubts about us?”

“No,” Nicole says quickly. “_No_,” she repeats. “I…” _love you, want to spend the rest of my life with you_.

“You what?” Waverly asks.

Nicole shakes her head, fidgeting with her tie. She swallows the lump in her throat.

_“I don’t wanna fight a big war with you,”_ 6LACK sings.

“I’m late,” Nicole says. “Do you…you could come with me.”

Waverly shakes her head. “It’s okay,” she says. “I think I’m just going to spend some time with Wynonna.”

Nicole nods before she grabs her phone and shuts the music off. “Are you gonna stay the night tonight? I’ll be home around ten.”

Waverly shrugs. “I might see if Wynonna wants to go to a party or something.”

Nicole fights the urge to ask if Champ is going to be at said party. “Okay,” she says. “Cool,” she mutters under her breath. “I’ll catch you later then.”

“You’ll catch me later?” Waverly asks, raising her eyebrows.

Nicole shrugs. “Yeah,” she says.

Waverly frowns. “Okay, then,” she says. “I’ll catch you later or whatever.”

Nicole grabs Waverly’s cheeks and pulls her in for a kiss. She kisses her with everything she has in her. “I…” _am so in love with you that it hurts_, “really want you to stay the night tonight.”

“I’ll stay the night,” Waverly says. “But I’m still going to see if Wynonna wants to go to a party tonight. Mercedes is having one tonight.”

Nicole nods. “Sweet,” she says. “Have fun. Call if you need me.”

“Okay,” Waverly says. “Have fun at your dinner.”

“That’s completely impossible,” Nicole says and Waverly laughs. “But I get to look forward to you in my bed when I get home so that’ll help a lot.”

Waverly smiles and leans into kiss Nicole. “You play your cards right and I just might be naked in your bed tonight,” she says.

Nicole chokes on her spit. “Oh,” she breathes out.

Waverly rolls her eyes playfully and wraps her arms around Nicole’s neck. “You’re such a goon,” she says.

“Duh,” Nicole says, leaning in and kissing Waverly. “I wish I could frame this moment right now. The way your skin is glowing from the light in the hallway is so beautiful.”

“You framed it,” Waverly had said as she picked up the picture of herself that was setting on Nicole’s desk. It was a picture that Nicole had taken of Waverly when the two of them went on a hike in the Big City during a weekend excursion with Wynonna.

Nicole had nodded. “I told you that I would frame a picture of you,” she told Waverly.

“I didn’t know you were serious,” Waverly had said.

“Of course I was serious,” Nicole said. “I don’t joke around when it comes to you.”

Waverly had looked at her for so long and with so much love that Nicole almost worked up the courage to kiss her. Her freshman self, though, backed out and instead shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

“You’re such a sweet talker,” Waverly says, smiling.

“_You’re so sweet, Nicole,”_ Shae had said.

Nicole blinks the thought away and focuses on the beautiful girl standing in front of her. “I’ve really gotta go, baby,” she says.

Waverly sighs before dropping her hands to her sides. “Okay,” she says. “I’ll see you when you get home.”

_Home, _Nicole thinks.

“Okay,” Nicole says. She kisses Waverly again before she leaves her room and heads downstairs. “See you later, Earp,” she says to Wynonna as she heads for the door.

“I heard a lot of yelling up there,” Wynonna says. “Everything okay?”

Nicole nods. “Just fine,” she says. “Hold down the fort while I’m gone, okay?”

Wynonna salutes her. “Sure thing, boss,” she says.

Nicole rolls her eyes before she reaches for the doorknob and leaves her house.

On the way to the Big City, both Wynonna and Waverly text her.

_ From_ _Wynonna Earp, 7:00 P.M: Tell Waverly that she’s a hoser._

_ From Waverly Earp, 7:05 P.M: Wynonna keeps nagging at me. I miss you._

_ From Wynonna Earp, 7:06 P.M: Okay, we settled it now. We’re gonna go party. Don’t wait up for us._

_ From Waverly Earp, 7:10 P.M: We’re going to Mercedes’ party later. Might not be back ‘till late. Maybe you could stop by when you get back into town?_

_ From Wynonna Earp, 8:00 P.M: You make it there yet? Waves is being so annoying. She keeps saying she misses you. I could puke._

Nicole laughs when she looks at all of the text messages that she got from her best friend and her girlfriend. She just got to the Big City and parked near the restaurant that they’re eating at.

_To Waverly Earp, 8:32 P.M: Miss you, baby. Have fun at the party._

_ To Wynonna Earp, 8:35 P.M: Stop nagging at Waverly. Take care of her at the party, okay? Just got to the restaurant. I’ll text you when I’m on my way home._

Nicole gets out of her car and heads inside of the restaurant. She goes to their usual table and smiles when she sees her dad.

“Hey, kid,” her dad greets her. “We were just talking about you.”

Nicole nods her head. “It’s good to see you guys,” she says to everyone. She takes her seat next to her dad. “Sorry I’m a little late. Waverly needed my help with something,” she fibs.

Her dad brushes it off. “No big deal,” he says. “So long as you’re here now.”

“You know, Nicole, when you become a lawyer, you cannot be late under any circumstances,” one of the guys, Josh, tells her.

Nicole has to hold back from clenching her jaw. “Thank you for that information, Josh,” she says before clearing her throat and flagging a waiter down. “Can I get a water?” She asks.

“Sure thing,” the waiter says.

“So how are your studies in high school going?” Hanson, another one of her dad’s friends, asks her.

“Good,” she says.

Her dad lightly kicks one of her legs underneath the table.

“I mean great,” Nicole corrects herself. “I’m getting straight A’s and working hard on my shot for basketball.”

Hanson nods. “You’re hoping to get a scholarship for basketball, right?” He asks.

Nicole nods. “Yes, sir,” she says.

The waiter sets Nicole’s water down in front of her before he takes everyone’s food order.

“Nicole, tell me, who’s this Waverly girl you are always speaking of?” Dean asks.

Nicole side-eyes her dad, but shakes the feeling off. “Waverly’s my girlfriend,” she says. “I’ve told you guys that before.”

Dean adjusts the napkin in his lap. “My apologizes. I must have forgotten,” he tells Nicole.

Her dad turns and glares at her.

Nicole internally sighs. “No need to apologize,” she says. She looks at her dad before looking back at Dean. “So how’s everything in the office?” She decides to ask.

As Josh starts telling her about this, that, and the other thing, Nicole’s phone goes off in her pocket. The vibrations are constant, almost annoying, but Nicole isn’t allowed to check her phone during these dinners. She’s definitely not going to chance it because getting a lecture from her dad tonight is for sure not what she wants to do tonight.

The time seems to pass at a decent rate, but the vibrations in Nicole’s pocket press on. It’s not until all of them are saying goodbye to each other that she excuses herself to go to the bathroom so that she can check her phone.

_From Wynonna Earp, 9:00 P.M: Dude, this party is actually pretty fun. Come by when you get back into town._

_ From Wynonna Earp, 9:05 P.M: Okay, maybe I spoke too soon. It’s starting to get lame, but at least there’s free booze._

_ From Wynonna Earp, 9:08 P.M: Waverly is going hard on the alcohol. She must be stressed._

_ From Wynonna Earp, 9:10 P.M: Okay, babygirl is starting to dance her tits off. I might join her. See you when you get here?_

_ From Wynonna Earp, 9:22 P.M: Ugh. Guess who just walked in? Yup, you guessed it. Champ the Chump Hardy._

_ From Wynonna Earp, 9:30 P.M: Champ is starting to get handsy with Waverly. I, of course, stepped in and told him to take a hike._

_ From Wynonna Earp, 9:32 P.M: Waves is acting weird. What’s with lovesick teenagers, eh?_

_ From Wynonna Earp, 9:35 P.M: Champ is definitely trying to get Waverly to dance with him. What an ass. Hold on, I’m going to step in._

_ From Wynonna Earp, 9:45 P.M: I think you should get here, Haught. It’s getting out of hand._

_ From Wynonna Earp, 9:46 P.M: Nicole, seriously text me back. Waverly is crying. He just…_

Nicole furrows her eyebrows. “He just what?” She asks herself.

She keeps scrolling through her notifications.

_10 missed calls from Wynonna Earp._

_ Two voicemails from Wynonna Earp._

_ “Nicole, you need to get here,” _Wynonna says. _“Waves is a mess. When I find that piece of shit, I’m going to kill him. Call me.”_

_“Nicole, it’s me,”_ Wynonna says. _“Why aren’t you answering? This is 911. Get here now. I don’t know what to do. Fucking hell, Nicole. It’s bad.”_

Nicole quickly calls Wynonna and sighs when she doesn’t answer. She calls her multiple times until someone finally answers.

“Nicole?” Comes Chrissy’s voice.

“Hey,” Nicole says, “where’s Wynonna? And what the hell happened to Waverly?”

“I don’t know where Wynonna went,” Chrissy tells Nicole. “She ran out of the door after Champ and left her phone.”

Nicole sighs. “What happened to Waverly?” She asks more urgently.

There’s a long pause and Nicole can’t take it. She feels her eyes start to well up.

“Chrissy,” she pushes, her voice breaking, “please tell me what happened to Waverly.”

Chrissy breathes heavily through the speaker of the phone.

“Chrissy,” Nicole says again, louder this time.

“He hit her,” Chrissy says.

Nicole blinks so many times in a row that she gets dizzy. “Who hit her?” She asks.

“Champ,” Chrissy says. “She’s in Mercedes’ room bawling her eyes out and asking for you. Her face, Nicole, it’s…”

“It’s what?” Nicole asks, raising her eyebrows. When Chrissy doesn’t say anything, Nicole screams into the phone. “It’s what, Chrissy?!”

“It’s bad,” Chrissy says. “Look, you need to get here, okay? She needs you.”

“I’m going to fucking kill that son of a bitch,” Nicole says, her teeth clenched. Tears fall down her face. “Someone needs to find Wynonna. Where in the hell is Doc?”

“He already went out after her,” Chrissy tells her.

“I’m on my way,” Nicole says. “Get everyone out of the fucking house. I don’t want anyone in there when I get there, okay?”

“Got it,” Chrissy says. “Hurry.”

“I will,” Nicole promises before she hangs up the phone and rushes out of the bathroom. She stops by their table and sighs. “I have to leave. Waverly, she…” she trails off, trying to gain composure. “She needs me.”

Dean furrows his eyebrows. “Didn’t Josh just tell you that lawyers cannot be late or leave early under any circumstances?” He asks.

“I don’t have time to talk about it,” Nicole says. “And I’m not a lawyer. I’m still in fucking high school and my girlfriend needs me.” She grabs her keys and looks at her dad. “Bye,” she says before she hurries out of the restaurant and into her car.

She squeals away and lays her foot down on the gas pedal. She reaches ninety miles an hour before she finally takes a deep breath. She undoes the knot in her tie and undoes the top button on her white button-up.

She makes it to Purgatory in record timing and throws her car in park when she pulls up to Mercedes’ house. She runs into the house and frowns at Mercedes.

“Why the fuck would you let that douche bag in here?” Nicole asks Mercedes.

“I didn’t even know he was here until after…” Mercedes trails off.

“After he hit my girlfriend?” Nicole asks, raising her eyebrows. She shakes her head before running up the stairs and into Mercedes’ room, where Waverly is laying on the bed and Chrissy is sitting on the edge of the bed. “Baby,” she breathes out when she sees Waverly’s face. Her right cheek is bruised and her nose has dried blood on it. Not to mention that her left wrist has a huge bruise on it. Nicole’s chin starts to quiver. “Baby,” she says again and Waverly looks at her.

“Nicole,” Waverly says, “he…he hit me because I wouldn’t have sex with him. He kept putting his hands all over me and…” she pauses and starts to sob. “We can’t find Wynonna and my face hurts so bad.”

“I’m taking you to the hospital,” Nicole says, reaching out for Waverly.

Waverly shakes her head. “I’m fine,” she says. “I don’t want to go to the hospital. They’re just going to tell me to ice my face and wrist.”

Nicole sighs. “Champ had better hope that Wynonna finds him before I do because I will-“

“Can you hold me?” Waverly asks, cutting Nicole off.

Nicole crawls onto the bed and wraps her arms around Waverly. “You’re safe now, okay?” Nicole says. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you ever again.” She looks at Chrissy. “We need to find Wynonna. Call Doc and see where he’s at and call Dolls to get him to look, too. Call the whole damn town if you have to.”

Chrissy nods. “On it,” she says before she leaves the room.

Nicole kisses the top of Waverly’s head. “I’m so sorry that this happened to you, baby,” she says. “Do you want me to call Gus?”

“Chrissy already did,” Waverly tells her. “Gus called Nedley. They’re all looking for him.”

Nicole scowls. “I’ll kill him with my bare hands,” she says. “I need to go and help look.”

Waverly holds onto her tighter. “Please stay,” she says. “I need you here.”

“Okay,” Nicole says softly, “I’ll stay.”

It felt like hours until Wynonna finally came walking into Mercedes’ bedroom. Waverly’s asleep on top of Nicole and Nicole is just staring at the ceiling.

“I figured you’d have some music on or something,” Wynonna says.

Nicole doesn’t look away from the ceiling. “There isn’t a song for a moment like this,” she says. She turns to look at Wynonna. “Did you find Champ?”

Wynonna shakes her head. “No,” she says. “I searched everywhere for him.”

Nicole worries her bottom lip in between her teeth.

“Nedley will find him,” Wynonna says. “Waverly can press charges.”

“Yeah,” Nicole agrees. “I was worried about you.”

Wynonna looks down at the floor. “I didn’t know what to do,” she tells Nicole. “When I saw him hit her, I blacked out. I remember calling you, but then I went out looking for him.”

Nicole closes her eyes tightly.

“The way she was crying…” Wynonna stops, swallowing hard. “And calling for you.” There’s a beat of silence before she continues, “I couldn’t just stand there. I had to do something.”

Nicole opens her eyes and nods. “I would’ve gone after him, too, Earp,” she says.

Wynonna leans back against the wall. “I should’ve thrown him out when I had the chance,” she says.

“There’s no way that you could’ve known he was going to do this,” Nicole says. “Don’t blame yourself. No one’s to blame besides Champ.”

“Then why did you blame Mercedes?” Wynonna asks, raising her eyebrows. “I talked to her when I got here. She’s upset, you know? She thinks that you’re mad at her.”

“I’m not mad at her,” Nicole says. “I was just pissed off and worried when I got here. I didn’t even mean to blame her.”

“I think that you should talk to her,” Wynonna says.

“I will,” Nicole vows. “I’m not leaving Waverly, though. I’m going to wake her up in a little while and have her ice her face again.”

“How’s her wrist?” Wynonna asks.

“Bruised,” Nicole says. “More bruised than the time she fell off of her bike when she was ten.”

“I can ride down the hill just fine, Nicole,” Waverly had said.

Nicole looked over the narrow hill and sighed. “Waves, really, you should just let Wynonna and I do it. There are a lot of bumps.”

“Yeah, babygirl, let the pros do it,” Wynonna said.

“I can do it,” Waverly pushed. “Watch and see.”

Wynonna pushes herself off of the wall and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Fuck this night,” she mutters.

Nicole nods her agreement. “My dad’s pissed at me,” she tells Wynonna. “I told off his friends.”

“You did?” Wynonna asks.

Nicole, despite everything that has happened tonight, laughs. “They were pissing me off,” she says. “They seriously make me not want to be a lawyer at all.”

“Don’t let them be the reason you don’t follow your dreams,” Wynonna says. “I think that you should tell your dad that you’re done going to those stupid dinners.”

“Yeah, that’ll be the day,” Nicole says. Waverly stirs in her arms. “Shh, baby, it’s okay,” she says soothingly. 

Waverly opens her eyes and looks at Wynonna. “‘Nonna,” she says, her voice strained by sleep, “when did you get back?”

“Just a few minutes ago,” Wynonna says. “How’re you feeling?”

Waverly kisses Nicole’s chest. “Better,” she says. “I don’t hurt that much anymore.”

“That’s good,” Wynonna says. She chews her thumbnail. “Nedley said that he’s going to search this whole damn town and even the counties surrounding it in order to find Champ.”

Waverly cringes at the mention of Champ’s name. “You’re a good sister, you know that?” She says.

Wynonna looks away, tears forming in her eyes. “I try to be,” she says.

“Stop chewing on your thumbnail,” Waverly chastises Wynonna. “It’ll get infected like the last time.”

Wynonna drops her hands to her sides and sighs. “I’m going to go and get you some ice,” she tells Waverly.

“No,” Waverly says. “I just iced my face an hour ago and too ibuprofen for the swelling. Right now I just need to sleep and I want to be surrounded by my two favorite people.”

Wynonna turns back to Waverly. “Gus’ll be worried that we’re not home,” she says.

“Nicole called her and said that we were staying here tonight,” Waverly says.

“Okay,” Wynonna says.

Waverly pats the spot next to her. “C’mere,” she says. “Nicole doesn’t bite.”

Nicole smiles. “Not all the time anyway,” she says, winking at Waverly.

Wynonna groans. “Okay, if we’re going to sleep in the same bed together, you have got to stop making comments like that,” she tells Nicole.

Nicole pulls Waverly tighter against her. “Fine,” she says. “But just for the night.”

Wynonna gets into the bed and wraps her arm around Waverly. “Deal,” she murmurs.

_My girls,_ Nicole thinks to herself.

“I love you,” Nicole says into the night and she knows that she’s saying it to the both of them this time.

Waverly’s eyes go wide and she sits up. “You love me?” She asks.

Wynonna lets out a strained sigh. “Really, Haught?” She asks. “You’ve had all this time to tell my little sister that you love her, but you decide to do it right when I’m on the verge of sleeping?”

Nicole laughs softly. “You were the one who told me that I should tell her,” she says to Wynonna before she looks at Waverly. She tucks a strand of Waverly’s hair behind her ear and smiles. “I am so in love with you, Waverly Earp,” she breathes out.

Waverly leans her head back and smiles. She loops her arms around Nicole’s neck and stares at her. “I love you, too,” she says.

“You do?” Nicole asks, raising her eyebrows.

“Of course I do,” Waverly says, as if it’s obvious. “I was just waiting for you to say it first.”

Nicole leans in and kisses Waverly hard. “I love you with my whole, entire soul,” she says against Waverly’s lips.

Wynonna throws a pillow at them. “Break it up,” she says. “I get that you guys love each other and all, but I’m trying to sleep over here.”

Waverly pulls away from Nicole and smiles. She outlines Nicole’s face with her finger. “You’re the best thing to ever happen to me,” she tells Nicole before she looks at Wynonna. “Both of you are.”

“Flattery,” Wynonna mumbles.

Nicole smiles. “I think your sister might kick us out of bed if we don’t stop,” she tells Waverly.

Waverly lies back down and rests her head on Nicole’s chest. “I love you, Wynonna,” she says.

Wynonna, half asleep, hums. “I love you, too, babygirl,” she says. “You, too, Haught.”

It was in this moment that Nicole truly felt complete. Sure, they all had a terrible night, but this, _this_ moment is everything to Nicole. She has the two people who she loves most in the world cuddled up to her and exchanging “I love you’s” to one another. Champ is still an issue, but they’ll figure that out tomorrow. Right now, they can just be.

_“Oh, my heart hurts so good. I love you, babe, so bad,”_ LANY sings somewhere across the room as headlights from a passer-bier driving on the lonely streets of Purgatory shine through the window.


End file.
